The Humans

By Leilei Liu

“The Humans” is a play written by Stephen Karam, and is currently playing at the Laura Pels Theater. This comedy-drama features a dinner scene of a typical middle class family gathering at a younger sister’s new apartment in Chinatown, Manhattan, on a Thanksgiving night. Brigid’s new apartment is old and noisy. It only contains one broken window on the first floor and a dark basement. The only stairs are located on the far end of the stage. The setting of the stage is interesting, because it is the cross section of this dark duplex. It allows the audience to watch two stages at the same time. The family that includes Brigid’s parents, older sister and her grandmother, who took the train from her hometown to visit her. The beginning of the gathering is heart-warming and hilarious. They talk and joke while preparing for dinner like a normal family. But as an audience, it is not hard to predict that there will be a breaking point for this family, but I could not anticipate its the cause.

During the show, I could not stop comparing it to “Manhattan Transfer.” Obviously, both stories happen in Manhattan. A country girl from Pennsylvania comes to New York alone in hope of pursuing her dream. After years of school, Brigid cannot even find a decent job in the city. In order to live in the city, Brigid and her boyfriend have to move into this tumbledown place, in which there is always something broken, and pretend they are pleased with the place. All the unhappiness arises because of money. Brigid’s father was forced to retire with no pension, because he was caught having an affair at his workplace. Brigid’s mother has to work extra hours to make more money. The family has to sell its lake house to pay the mortgage. Brigid’s grandmother needs extra care, but the family cannot afford to hire a nurse to take care of her. Brigid’s sister is out of a job. Brigid cannot find a job either to pay back her student debt. After revealing all the secrets behind this family, the heartwarming dinner turns into a scene full of conflicts and chaos. Brigid is accusing her dad, and asking him he he could do such a disgraceful thing. Brigid’s sister is crying because she broke up with her girlfriend and is out of the job. But from my point of view, the essential reason for all these conflicts is money. Similar to “Manhattan Transfer,” many characters in the book reflect how capitalism affected them. Bud ends his life because he cannot make any money in the city. Blackhead is corrupted to make more money. Dutch Roberson spends twenty years in prison for stealing money. It is all about money. In “The Humans,” all the characters are under great pressure because of their economic status. Each individual feels unsafe and unstable in the society. And to no one’s surprise, all this pressure reaches a boiling point, and explodes in the end. An interesting thing to add on this point is that Brigid’s boyfriend is named Rich. He is already 38, but he is laid back, and seems to have no worries at all. He has no work and is still in school. He dreams of being a social worker in the future. He seems to be in a totally different world that that of Brigid’s family, and does not need to worry about reality or the future. Well, of course this is all because he will have a trust fund when he turns 40 in two years. How ironic. 

Regarding the performances, each actor is excellent at developing his or her character on stage. The character Erik, Brigid’s father, is a complex figure. He is a typical American father who is a huge fan of baseball. He drinks beer and comforts his daughters when they are experiencing sadness. He appears strong and caring for his family. But he is not. After working in a private school for 30 years, Erik was discharged from his position because he had an affair. All of a sudden, he had no pension, no work, no income, nothing. I think he is a total bastard, who is not responsible for his family. After he has the affair, his wife has to work even harder to make money for the family. As a man, Erik needs the woman he betrayed to make up for his faults. I cannot understand him, and dislike this character. However, at the same time, he is still a good father. He cares about his family in every way. He says he still loves Brigid’s mother. He is real person.  And he is a complex person. I do not think I can use a simple word like good or bad to describe him. This character reminds me of many similar characters that I have encountered this semester, such as Holden Caulfield and Bigger Thomas. Holden is a complex kid, too. He says he hates the society and people. But he behaves in the exact he does not approve. Bigger accidentally kills Mary and feels guilty. But he later burns the body and finds excuses for what he did. When I first read these books, I found it hard to understand why those characters would do things that contradict themselves. After watching “The Humans,” I kind of understand that people are complex. It is hard to define a person using good or bad.

Lastly, I want to specifically talk about the setting of the stage, which I think was is brilliant. The cross section of the duplex apartment divides the stage into two parts, the upstairs and downstairs. They are connected but independent at the same time. For audience, we can watch both stages at the same time. However, for the characters, they can be whispering secrets upstairs that need to be hidden from the downstairs. The characters can cry or show their real feelings upstairs when everyone else is downstairs. The stairs connecting both levels is a pathway where characters have to hide their feelings and fake their smiles to face the family. I think it is an excellent way to express the individuals’ emotions and push the story forward.